Updating its flagship device for the second time this year, the new Sony Xperia Z3 pulls the Z3 Compact and Z3 Compact Tablet in behind it, as Sony looks to make its Xperia family more cohesive.

This flagship handset sticks to Sony's omnibalance design, differing only slightly from the Z2 launched in February 2014. The new handset measures 146 x 72 x 7.3mm thick and weighs 152g, squeezing tempered glass panels into the aluminium frame and giving you IP65/68 water resistance.

There's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core chipset at the heart clocked at 2.5GHz along with 3GB of RAM. There will be 16 and 32GB versions of the Z3, along with microSD card support up to 128GB.

As with the Z2, the Z3 offers a 5.2-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, 423ppi. That Triluminos display comes enhanced with Sony's Live Colour LED and X-Reality technologies, looking to give you plenty of punch.

Around the back is that 20.7-megapixel 1/2.3 Exmor RS sensor with Sony G Lens and Bionz processor. SteadyShot stabilisation is welcomed and Sony has also added ISO 12800 to the camera options, although we're yet to see how the results of that come out.

As before, the Sony Xperia Z3 supports high-resolution audio and has integrated noise cancellation when used with the NC31EM headphones.

The Sony Xperia Z3 launches on Android 4.4 KitKat, with Sony's customisation over the top. You'll now get PlayStation 4 Remote Play (like the Vita) and Sony has released the GCM10 Game Control Mount so attach your dual shock controller to your phone.

The Sony Xperia Z3 will be available in black, white, copper or silver green. There's no official word on pricing, but we suspect it will launch at £549 and it will be available in the coming months.